Anger Issues

06

Maisie scrambled to pack a few of her things in her bag so she could run downstairs and talk to Brent's mom before he surfaced that morning. Casually walking into the kitchen Maisie spotted Peggy by the coffee machine stirring her creamer. "Um, Mrs. Peggy-" Maisie started, before she was interrupted. "No need for the 'Mrs.', keep it casual, it's just Peggy!"

"Okay, then. Well, Peggy, does Brent have any, you know, friends? Or a really good best friend, maybe?" Maisie asked, trying not to sound as stupid as she thought her question was.

"Brent hasn't ever really been one for relationships at all, whether it be romantically or between friends. I do know that he kept one friend from high school, though. I couldn't tell you the last time they talked but I assume that nothing bad happened between them. Why do you ask, dear?"

"I was just thinking about your advice from last night; get Brent something with meaning instead of something expensive, and I thought maybe I could surprise him with an old friend that he hasn't spoken to in a while. Unless you think that's a totally stupid idea, if so, I'd probably agree," Maisie was about to ramble on until she looked up and saw the wide grin plastered across Peggy's face.

"Oh, Maisie, that's a splendid idea! He is always so busy year round and never has time to catch up with anybody! I'm not too sure where he lives now but I still have his mother's number and I'm sure she'd love your idea just as much as I do!"

"That's fantastic," Maisie beamed, "I'd really appreciate it, thank you!" Peggy looked like she was about to answer when they both heard loud footsteps coming down the stairs. A very sleepy and stressed looking Brent rounded the corner and walked straight to the coffee machine. Maisie only realized that this was the first time that she had ever seen him not wearing a suit. She had been working for him for a month, yes, but he was always wearing one when she'd see him at breakfast and lunch and neither of them would hang out over the weekends, they both just needed a break from each other on those two days. It was almost refreshing to see him dress like your average Joe. Obviously she knew that he owned more clothes than just suits but that didn't mean that it was any less interesting or surprising to see him wearing sweats, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes.

The trio sat down at the breakfast table, Brent and his mother making light conversation while Maisie was careful not to intrude. She knew that they didn't see each other as much as they'd like, even though they only lived about an hour away. Brent was always so busy and as much as he hated to say it, he could barely find time for his mother. It was easy to tell how much Brent liked being in the presence of his mom and how much she enjoyed him being there. Maisie knew that Brent's dad had left them when they were children, only to pass away a few years later (Peggy accidentally let this slip upon their first encounter, she truly just loved to talk). And as hard as this was for them, it was easy to tell that Peggy gave her sons all the love she had and they, in turn, gave her the comfort none of them even realized she needed. Just a few short moments later, they were all bidding their goodbyes. Peggy had given Maisie a strong bear hug and kisses on both of her cheeks before letting her walk to the car. Turning back to look at the pair, Maisie saw them sharing a warm embrace on the front porch steps. Brent truly was such a momma's boy and she definitely owned the only soft spot in his heart.

....

Maisie had successfully dropped off her family's presents at the post office, picked up a few presents for the people that worked for Brent, gotten a few stocking stuffers, and chose an outfit to wear on Christmas day. After eating her lunch in the courtyard she strolled up the sidewalk to her front door. As she stuck her hands in her pocket, she found the sticky note that simply said the name Karen Weatherford and a phone number scribbled underneath it. This, for some reason, made Maisie so giddy. She loved bringing people together for the holidays, it made them so happy and that's what she loved seeing most on the people around her: smiles. Even though she would be separated from her own family this year, that only made her more determined to find out where Steven Weatherford was and how she'd find him and bring him here.

Maisie walked around her home, while still on the phone with Karen, and they exchanged a friendly conversation, almost as if they had been the ones that went to high school together. Finally getting to the actual reason she called, though she mentioned it as soon as Karen answered but it got lost in how excited she seemed to be that her son would be reunited with his old friend, she scribbled down the information she was given on the corner of her notebook and immediately got to planning. She had his address, phone number, business information, and email address (I guess you could say that Karen was going to make this happen just as much as Maisie was).

She figured it would have been a better idea to plan out the chain of events first then to call him, so they sort of had a game plan as to how it would all work, if he decided to agree. Honestly, if he didn't want to come, Maisie might fly to Wisconsin herself and drag Steven to New York because she spent almost an hour getting everything perfect.

Steven finally picked up on Maisie's second attempt at calling him. It was going a lot smoother than she had expected, Steven loved her idea the second it came out of her mouth, and they had almost worked out every little detail. After booking his tickets and reserving a hotel room, they finally finished at ten at night.

"-alright, well, Miss Maisie, it has been a pleasure talking to you! I can't wait to be over there on Tuesday!" Steven said. You could practically hear his grin through the phone, and Maisie loved the fact that he was so excited to see Brent. Maisie also exchanged her good-byes and hung up the phone.

She was certain that she had finally found the perfect gift to knock his socks off.